/distance

April 3, 2009

Last week I showed you how to configure your combat log so you can give a quick answer when your raid leader asks what killed you. Today, I’d like to show you a tool that may help you avoid the question altogether.

Have you noticed on the Kel’Thuzad fight how the ice blocks have a way of spreading? I’ve seen an entire melee group taken out by chained ice blocks. The good news is, this is completely preventable. The ice block will only chain if someone is standing within 10 yards of the person KT targets with Frost Blast.

The raid spreads out at the start of the phase, but during the course of the fight people sometimes get out of position. Whether it is the off-tank moving to pick up adds or someone dancing out of a shadow fissure, people sometimes drift into your space without realizing it. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were some way to know when someone is too close? Well, there is!

If you use Deadly Boss Mods, (which I highly recommend) you need only type the command /distance or /range and the following box will pop up on your screen.

By default, the box displays all those players within 10 yards. You can adjust the range by simply right clicking on the box, as shown below. Note: Set the range to 11 to give yourself a little extra warning when someone is getting too close. Special thanks to Veneretio for that tip!

I drag this box to a prominant location on my screen and keep one eye on it at all times. It’s little things like this that can make the difference, especially when you are going for the Immortal or Undying achievements. Be proactive and use every tool at your disposal to make sure it’s not your mistake that wipes the raid.

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9 comments

Wow, just a superb post. I feel like you’ve somehow broken into my consciousness. The only thing I would add is for fights like KT that you set it to 11 not 10 yards just to give you that little bit sooner notice if someone is creeping too close and could potentially kill you.

meh…
I’m still add-on free after all these years. During the Gruul the Dragonkiller fight, my method to avoid others after a Ground Slam/Shatter was to use the minimap. “Move away from the other dots” with the advantage that it showes you which direction is clear. I’m sure there’s a good zoom level to judge 10 yards on the minimap.

@Vene, must be all the time I spend on your website. You’re rubbing off on me. And thanks for the tip. I’ve updated the post to include it.

@Waldo, I have always respected the fact that you maintain a level of performance unaided that most people require a mod to reach. I still remember our first forum debate on that topic nearly three years ago. Heh, we were such newbies raiders back then, learning together as we cut our teeth in ZG. *smiles at the memories*

Anyway, I maintain the same position now that I did back then. I will use any tool available to be the best player I can be. If I can do a better job with a mod, I’ll use it. If it becomes a hindrance, I’ll drop it. Simple as that.

Anyway, thank you so very much for the gracious words, Aleathea, but I was not digging for a compliment. Without a doubt the guild (and the game) needs more clever people like you to share good ideas. I’m glad you’re doing it.

You could have also just called me stubborn and I guess I couldn’t argue ;-)

Ah, yes. Newbie raiding in ZG. Well, I remember being the newbiest. I had just joined the guild and was on my first run with the old gang. I can recall it clearly. Popping open the raid roster, you were the only other Paladin. We’d never spoken before. So I started typing a whisper (while trying to get over your striking resemblance to Bubblz). With a fair amount of nerves I whispered to you “Hi. I’m the new Paladin. What do I do?” Back on that raid, you knew it all and in my eyes you still do, friend!

For some reason, I only seem capable of making comments on posts that are nearly three weeks old. At least you can tell your post stuck in my mind!

Anyway, when I first read your post about “/distance” all I could remember was a range check coming up automatically through DMB in Kara. For some reason, I hadn’t seen that feature in ages.

Well, we did our first official guild run of Emalon in Vault last night, and I absolutely adored this feature. I think 80% of our guild was shocked that this option was even in DBM last night when I mentioned it. All I can say is that it truly did wonders for minimizing Chain Lightning damage. We one-shotted the crazy guy. Thanks, again!